Landowners seek pacts with eco-agencies, environmental groups

Owners and operators of large ranches, groves and farms mingled June 11 with those with holds of less than a hundred acres at the Bert J. Harris Jr. Agricultural Center in Sebring, but they had one goal in common: to learn how to preserve and conserve their agricultural lands.

Welcome to the Landowner’s Assistance Expo, sponsored by the Central Florida Regional Planning Council and the Highlands Soil & Water Conservation District.

The landowners – universally recognized as the stewards of Central Florida’s agricultural lands and wildlife habitat – wanted to hear what representatives from county, state, and federal agencies – as well as the University of Florida, Ducks Unlimited, and private nonprofits – had to offer in the way of tax breaks, cost-sharing and other incentives.

Sheila McNamara, regional resiliency manager with the regional planning council, said landowners of all types participate in the various preservation programs.

“They don’t have to be farmers,” McNamara said. “Sometimes the land has been in the family and no one has been farming it. It is open to all landowners, regardless of acreage size.”

The individual ranches, farms, and smaller agricultural lands are patches in a single quilt that stretches from the Georgia border south to Alligator Alley. That’s why obtaining landowner participation is key to protecting the soil, preserving wildlife corridors, maintaining the health of rivers and other protection efforts.

“Every landowner should be concerned with conservation,” said Charlie Lykes, who said he is retired from the family business. The Lykes Ranch is 337,000 acres, but Charlie said he maintains a smaller piece of land for himself. “It’s extremely important for all of us to do things right.”

The agenda included 17 sessions that covered issues of interest to expo attendees:

• Amy Phillips of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services described the rural land protection program
• Cory Snider of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission described his agency’s landowner assistance program
• Keith Fountain of Fountain Law discussed the implications of conservation easement laws
•  Elizabeth Guthrie of Ducks Unlimited spoke of providing landowners technical assistance for water protection and restoration.
• Josh Daskin, director of conservation at Archbold Biological Station, discussed how to manage land for the long-term to preserve the Florida wildlife corridor.
• Matt Warren of the Florida Department of Agriculture told landowners of ways the state can help pay for water conservation on their lands.
• Steve Fussell and his son Zeb own a small ranch near Arcadia where they raise cattle and hay.

“We’re here just to sort of get our feet wet, we haven’t been involved in a lot of the conservation programs and such,” Steve Fussell said. “We’re here to learn, to get information and bring it back to our family.”

Gary Grant is a valuator with Farm Credit for southwest Florida. He evaluates agricultural property, determining its value based on various factors, including any improvements made and the potential uses of the property – including environmental.

“I’m just trying to learn things I can use in my job,” he said. “Today will give me insight into the kinds of programs landowners are involved with. We help them manage their debt properly, and if this is one way to do it, that’s what we’re trying to find out.”

Three landowners entered a panel discussion on the pros and cons of partnering with agencies and environmental groups. Jim Strickland, owner of Strickland Ranch, Carey Lightsey, operator of Lightsey Cattle Company, and Ned Hancock of Hancock Citrus shared their experience with other landowners in the audience.

“They wanted the participants to hear from landowners who have done it, the good, the bad, the ugly,” McNamara said. “They discussed how they decided on the programs they did and how it worked out for them.”

The expo has grown from about 80 attendees to about 136 attendees in the past few years, McNamara said.

“We did an audience survey and some people suggested we make it two days so they could have more time to speak to the individual presenters and organizations,” she said. “It was originally for our region, but we had so many landowners asking if they could come, we opened it up for everyone.”

For more information, contact McNamara at [email protected]; she can be reached at 352-678-7015.

Read the full article by Highlands News Sun's John Guerra at Landowners seek pacts with eco-agencies, environmental groups | Highlands News-Sun | midfloridanewspapers.com